NewsUN Secretary-General António Guterres pushed for unity and respect for ceasefire agreements in a press conference at the Second World Summit for Social Development in Qatar on Tuesday.
Guterres responded to journalists’ questions on the ceasefire by calling on all involved countries to cooperate, while confirming the UN’s engagement. He stated:
We have been very actively supporting the principle that the ceasefire must hold, that all parties must abide by the ceasefire, that there must be a link between Gaza and the West Bank in the way the next stage is put in place. And that this needs to lead to a two-state solution and to the recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
Guterres also confirmed that the US is working with the UN Security Council to draft a resolution. Although the Secretariat is not participating in the talks, any new governing body established in Gaza should have the legitimacy of a mandate from the Security Council. He further stated that the UN has been active in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the US has been assisting in making Israel remove some of the obstacles in place to prevent aid distribution.
This comes after months of renewed international appeals for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, which was facilitated by US President Donald Trump and supported by neighboring Middle Eastern countries. Since the ceasefire in early October, the UN has reported providing aid or general food distribution to nearly half the Palestinian population.
Guterres ended the conference by reiterating the importance of re-establishing education systems in Gaza. He brought attention to the upcoming conference in Cairo on the rehabilitation and recovery of Gaza.
The conference, inspired by the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit hosted by Egypt last month, was announced on Monday. During Qatar’s Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty Summit, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly called on governments, international organizations, development banks, and philanthropic foundations to attend. An immediate focus will be to address the famine that is ongoing in Gaza amid Egypt’s intensified efforts to uphold the ceasefire agreement and maintain a steady flow of aid to the territory.
